Climate change is making landslides more likely and preparation vital.
Alpine
Posted inMarch 16, 2020: Wiring the Wild
The Backcountry Film Festival struggles to balance self-awareness and escapism
The 15th annual film series unevenly grapples with the paradox of the winter rec industry.
Posted inArticles
The science behind Colorado’s historic avalanches
Are such unprecedented slides due to climate change, abnormal weather, or both?
Posted inArticles
A high alpine weed grower’s unusual harvest
Rob Trotter’s vision continues to deteriorate as he works on his marijuana farm in Gypsum, Colorado.
Posted inAugust 31, 2018: The Big Threat to Bighorns
The beauty — and dangers — of living wild
Two new fearless memoirs deliver stories of pragmatism and boundless courage.
Posted inMay 14, 2018: Death in the Alpine
Death in the alpine
Social media is changing our relationship to risk, with deadly consequences.
Posted inApril 16, 2018: Cashing in on Standing Rock
A flurry of research illuminates snow’s foes
New studies detail how hotter temperatures, humid air and wind-blown dust can pummel the Western snowpack.
Posted inFebruary 19, 2018: Unfrozen North
An unfrozen North
The world’s permafrost holds vast stores of carbon. What happens when it thaws?
Posted inArticles
Protected lands generate big-time revenue
In Alaska, sustainable recreation dollars help advocates for protected areas.
Posted inArticles
How to learn to love a new landscape
A writer trades in the ‘crack-me-open ache of space’ in Colorado for the lushness of western Oregon.
Posted inJanuary 22, 2018: A Separatist State of Mind
The ski resorts of the West
From Alaska to New Mexico, a new map offers a comprehensive look at where to shred.
Posted inDecember 25, 2017: Bear Essentials
In the home of the bear
In the McNeil River Sanctuary, bears and humans have learned to share the landscape.
Posted inArticles
West Obsessed: The American alpine sublime
A new collection by a turn-of-the century poet raises questions about wildness.
Posted inArticles
Ski resorts prepare for warmer Northwest winters
Shrinking snowpack has led some resorts to use costly, water-intensive snowmakers.
Posted inAugust 7, 2017: Los Promotores
A wild sanity dance through the Rockies
Dancers and artists inspired by Wallace Stegner celebrate the geography of hope.
Posted inMarch 6, 2017: Uncomfortable Corners
Backpacking the blast zone
At Mount St. Helens, they never say ‘recovery.’
Posted inFebruary 2, 2016: Sagebrush Insurgency
Cursing the mountain
An adventurer asks whether his failures in the alpine zone are caused by blasphemy.
Posted inJuly 20, 2015: Shredded
Can human judgment handle avalanches?
We’re better than ever at understanding the dangers of avalanches. So why can’t we avoid them?
Posted inJuly 20, 2015: Shredded
Climbing over the edge
Review of “Snowblind: Stories of Alpine Obsession” by Daniel Arnold.